History
    Paw Khun Mengrai is known as the founding father of Chiang Rai. According to Chiang Rai, Lanna by Joel John Barlow, Mengrai founded Chiang Rai in response to the Mongol threat under Kublai Khan. In the 13th century, the Mongols were the most advanced military in the world and had conquered most of Asia. Only the "divine wind" or "kamikaze" had saved the Japanese and the Hans in China had built the great wall to protect themselves from these invaders. Khun Mengrai was able to avoid being conquered and subject to Mongol rule by using skillful diplomacy, by creating an alliance of Tai people and by moving the capital from Chiang Saen, around the Chiang Saen lake, into the Chao Praya Valley. His relations with the other leaders of the time, especially Ramkamhaeng and Paw Khun Ngam Muang of Payao, not only protected his empire, but also laid the groundwork for the establishment of a united Thai empire.
    One of the most important artifacts in Chiang Rai history is the Emerald Buddha. Legend has it that it was discovered in Wat Pra Kaeo in 1434 after a lightning strike (i.e. delivered by the gods.) Its most likely history is that it was made in India and on one of its sea voyages to the south, it was blown off course. It ended up in Angkor Wat and was eventually moved to Kampeng Phet and to Ayutthaya before being hidden in plaster by King Mahaborom to protect it from the invading Burmese. How it ended up in Chiang Rai is still a mystery. The original is now in Bangkok and in its place is a replica made of Canadian jade.
    Chiang Rai has never been important spiritually or culturally but it gained infamy in 1950's and 60's as a center for the opium trade. In the 1940s the Kuomintang or KMT, the group led by Chiang Kai Shek that escaped from mainland China and created modern Taiwan, had established settlements in the hills bordering Burma. The KMT that came to Thailand were from the Yunnan Province of China and were forced to flee from Chinese soldiers. Supported by the CIA and Thai government in order to prevent the spread of communism into Thailand, they were tolerated even though they were the kingpins of the opium trade in the 1960's. At the time, the Golden Triangle was one of the biggest opium producing regions in the world as the KMT encouraged the hill tribe people to grow poppies and then shipped it to the refineries of Chiang Mai. Eventually Thailand outlawed opium production and Khun Sa, a Shan warlord from Myanmar, came to replace the KMT and become the dominant player in the opium trade.
     It is only recently that Chiang Rai has become a tourist destination, especially for Thai tourists from Bangkok. The relatively cold weather, the completion of the airport and superhighway, and its proximity to Burma and Laos has resulted in it becoming one of the hippest places to visit in the north, second only to Chiang Mai. For Western tourists, the appeal is the beautiful hills and mountains, the history of Chiang Saen and the Golden Triangle, unspoiled wilderness and the large number of hill tribe groups.